Professor Gerald Robotnik (プロフェッサー・ジェラルド・ロボトニック Professā Jerarudo Robotonikku?) is a character that appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. He was a human scientist and the grandfather of Maria Robotnik and Ivo Robotnik. A world-renowned scientist who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest scientific minds of all time, Gerald was responsible for several ground-breaking creations, including his greatest achievement, Shadow the Hedgehog, making him a modern day scientific Da Vinci.